Can body forming machine



July 22, 1941.

B. F. SAUBESTRE 2,249,788

CAN BODY FORMING MACHINE Filed Dec. 8, 1939 BY Sam-4.

ATTO 5Y5 Patented July 22, 1941 CAN BODY FORMING MACHINE Basil F. Saubestre, Elmhurst, N. Y., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 8, 1939, Serial No. 308,212

Claims.

The present invention relates to can body forming machines of the character which. rolls or curls a flat sheet metal blank into cylindrical can bOdy shape and has particular reference to a curling device which will properly form can bodies irrespective of the temper of the metal in the blanks.

In the manufacture of sheet metal containers or cans flat sheet metal blanks are usually passed through a curling or forming device having a pair of rotating feed rollers which force the blank against a stationary deflector steel. The deflector steel curls the blank into a cylindrical can body shape.

Usually each type of can is made from sheet stock having a particular predetermined temper. This temper determines the hardness or softness'of the blank and gives the blank a stiff or flexible characteristic as the case may be. The softer material will curl more tightly than the stiffer material when projected against the deflector steel and therefore the steel must be set in a predetermined position in relation to the feeding roll for each type of blank.

However, in making cans for some kinds of products no particular temper of stock is necessa'ry and usually, for economical purposes, unsorted stock of varying tempers is used. The use of such stock, however, presents considerable difficulty in regards to the proper setting of the deflector steel.

The instant invention contemplates overcoming this difficulty by providing ,an auxiliary deflector element adjacent the main deflector steel which makes it possible to feed any temper of stock through the curling device and still produce a proper can body without adjustment of the steel.

An object therefore of the invention is the provision of a curling device for a can body mak-' ing machine wherein proper can bodies may be produced irrespective of the temper'of the metal in the body blanks so that changing of the setting of the device is entirely eliminated.

- Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent asit is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, discloses a preferred embodiment there- Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a can body making machine curling device embodying the instant invention, with parts broken away; and

Figs. 2 and. 3 are fragmentary enlarged see- I tional views of certain parts of the device illusthe drawing illustrates principal parts of a can body curling or forming device of the character disclosed in United States Patent 1,770,041, issued July 3, 1930, to J. F. Peters, on Roll bodymaker. Such a curling device includes a pair of continuously rotating upper and lower feed rollers H; [2 having trunnions l3 which are joumaled in suitable bearings formed in bearing blocks M of a housing I5.' The housing is bolted to a frame l6 which constitutes the mainv frame of the machin in which the device is used. The rollers are rotated in any suitable manner, such for example, as disclosed in the above mentioned patent.

Flat can body blanks A adapted to be formed into cylindrical can bodies are advanced endwise into the grip of the feed rollers H, iii-in any suitable manner. During this advancement th flat blank is supported on a. table portion I 8' of the frame l6.

The feed rollers ll, 12 furtheradvance the flat blank and force it into engagement with an inclined surface 2| of a forming steel or deflector 'element 22 disposed adjacent the feed rollers.

The blank striking against this inclined surface is deflected upwardly and it is this deflection The deflector element 22 is also adjustable horizontally relative to the feed rollers ll, i2. For this purpose there is provided a collar screw 3| whichis threadedly engaged in the outer end of the deflector steel. The outer end of the screw I I is formed with ahead 32 and a spaced collar 33.

The shank of the screw between the head and the collar isretained in a yoke 34 formed on the housing i5.

Hence when the collar screw 3| is rotated in its yoke 3! it moves thedeflector element. 22 away from or closer to the feed rollers ll, l2 as .the case may be. The inner end of the deflector element is cut away to form a curved clearance surface 35 so that the element may be adjusted close'to the rollers if desired. For the. forming operation made possible by the present invention the deflector element when once properly set, does not need to be changed irrespective of what temper stock the blank to be curled may be. The reason for this will now be explained.

in time with the other moving parts of the m chine proper.

As the curled blank travels up around th horn it is guided by removable curved guide plates 45 which surround the horn and which are located in spaced relation thereto. The

lower, edges of these guide plates extend down adjacent the deflector element 22 on one side and adjacent the blank supporting table 18 on the other side.

A stiff blank, that is one having a high temper, does not curl into body shape as readily as a soft or low temper blank. The softer blank tends to curl more tightly and hence if the deflector element 22 is set for a stiff blank, the softer blank comes off the inclined surface 21 of the deflector element in a tighter or more acute curl. Such a soft blank tends to curl back toward the upper feed roller H instead of prop- "erly entering the space between the horn 31 and its outer guide plate 45.

Provision is made in the present invention for redirecting such soft stock, as it comes from the forming steel 22 which is set for a stiff blank, so that such a soft blank will properly wrap around the horn in proper can body shape. This is effected by an auxiliary deflector steel 41 which is secured to the horn 31 in a recess 48 formed therein. This auxiliary deflector element is disposed parallel with the main deflector element 22 and extends down adjacent the latter. The outer surface of the auxiliary deflector is curved to correspond with the outer curved surface of the horn. Adjacent the lower edge, the auxiliary deflector is formed with a short fiat deflecting surface 49.

Hence when a soft blank A comes off the main deflector element 22 and curls too sharply for the usual forming operation, it engages against the deflecting surface 49 of the auxiliary deflector element 41 and is thus turned outwardly or in other words is deflected back, into a proper line of travel and into the desired body shape. Fig. 3 of the drawing clearly illustrates this redirecting action on a soft or low temper blank.

With these same parts and with the same setting of deflector elements, a stiff or high temper blank is also bent into proper can body shape. This is illustrated in Fig. 2 and naturally this follows for it will be remembered that the main forming steel 22 is already set for a still blank. The auxiliarydeflector element 41 thenpiays no active part.

Thus without changing any settings of the deflector elements, metal blanks irrespective of their temper may be readily curled into proper been found to be all.alike and in proper shape for further treatment necessary to incorporate them into completed cans. v

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that variouschanges may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from .the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a. preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In a sheet metal can body making machine, the combination of a horn, feeding devices for advancing flat can body blanks toward said horn along a predetermined path of travel, and vertically spaced deflector means disposed adjacent said feeding devices for receiving therebetween said blanks and for uniformly bending the same into cylindrical can body shape irrespective of the temper of the metal in the respective blanks.

2. In a sheet metal can body making machine, the combination of a horn, feeding devices for advancing flat can body blanks toward said horn .along a predetermined path of travel, and a pair of cooperating deflector and forming elements disposed .in spaced superposed relation adjacent said feeding devices for directing said advancing blanks against said horn for bending the same into cylindrical can body shape irrespective of the temper of the metal in the blanks.

3. In a sheet metal can body making machine,

the combination of a. horn, feeding devices for advancing fiat can body blanks toward said horn along a predetermined path of travel, a main deflector element disposed adjacent said feeding devices, and an auxiliary deflector element disposed above said main deflector elementfor passage therebetweenof said blanks, said deflector elements cooperating with said horn in forming the advancing blanks into cylindrical shaped can bodies irrespective of the temper of the metal in the blanks.

, 4. In a sheet metal can body making machine, the combination of a horn, feeding devices for advancing flat can body blanks toward said horn along a predetermined path of travel, a main deflector element having an angular deflecting surface against which advancing blanks engage and are thereby initially curled into cylindrical can body shape, and an auxiliary deflector element mounted above said main deflector element and having a deflecting surface disposed at an angle to the deflecting surface of said main deflector element to provide for passage therebetween of the individual blanks, one of said deflector elements acting to deflect a soft tem pered blank into the-same path of travel around said born that is traversed by a hard tempered blank, thereby adapting the forming operation to all of the blanks irrespective of their individual temper.

5. In a sheet metal can body making machine, the combination of a pair of rotatable rollers for feeding individual can body blanks along a predetermined path of travel, a pair of cooperating deflector elements disposed in superposed relation adjacent said rollers for initially bending the blanks so fed into cylindrical can body shape irrespective of the temper of the metal in the respective blanks, a horn for supporting the formed bodies, and guide plates surrounding said horn in spaced relation thereto for retaining the formed bodies in place on the horn.

BASIL F, SAUBESTRE. 

